The Memoranda of my official life by Walter Coningsby Erskine, 12th Earl of Kellie (1810-1872) is a unique insight into the life of a British officer and administrator in India in the middle of the nineteenth century. Erskine wrote this account of his life in 1859 after returning to England for a brief period. He recounts his life in the army and later civilian authority in India and petition to the Council and Secretary of State for India for the promotion to Lieutenant-General. This book is an extremely rare example of an account of the life of a British official returning from service to India.
What Erskine had achieved during his around 30 years in service in India was remarkable. In the beginning of his professional life, he performed simple military duties during his first years in the army and was selected by Lord Auckland Governor General to duty with a local corps in Assam and the promise of a civilian appointment thereafter, He declined the appointment, opting for life in the military instead where he eventually became Brevet Captain.
According to his own account, his first work in print, a work on Military Forms and Tables appeared in 1843 and underwent a second edition in 1847. No copy of this work could be located. He entered civilian service around 1843 in Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh, where by his own admission, he established an effective system of public administration and tackled crime through the introduction of police stations, courts and prisons. He was eventually appointed Commissioner of the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories.
Good conditions, only minor signs of external wear.